Californi quail in a colony pen?

[dainironfoot]

Hi guys, I have an extra pen that I made for some more pheasants and was thinking about turning it into a pen for a covey of California or Mountain quail(spendy). My question is would they be ok in a colony or can they only be kept in pairs? The pen is 6X12 and I was going to install a raised wire floor about a foot off the ground. I have had seperate pairs of quail before but never tried keeping them in a colony. I thought it might be possible because of the size of the pen. I was thinking five or six birds. What do you think?

Thanx

 

[TwoCrows]

Both of these species can be bred in colonies, however it doesn't always work without a lot of fighting. Depends on the age and level of aggression they are at. You would probably do ok the first breeding season year keeping them all together, but as they age, they may become a handful all being together. So you may need to eventually separate them into pairs.

Always keep them as pairs, (4 or 6 birds total) and do not mix the two species.